When I started writing my first book; Poisoned Arrows, in the summer of 2008, the decision to set in Liverpool seemed like a fairly simple one. After all, the city was halfway through its Capital of Culture adventure, and the previous few months had seen the emergence of the Echo Arena and Liverpool One, transforming the city centre into a vibrant, cultural hotspot. It offered the perfect setting to a contemporary crime thriller. Yet as the story progressed, and my one book morphed into a trilogy, the question of 'Why Liverpool?' only grew in significance. This is my attempt to answer that question.
So, why set a novel in Liverpool? Being a local lad I was always susceptible to the natural inclination to write about what you know, but the more I thought about it the more I liked the idea embedding a fiction in the city that I love, and infusing it with all the charm and nuance that people on the outside don't always get to see. That was the idea, at least, and The Golden Aces Trilogy grew from there.
Where to begin? Well, as a setting for a novel, what attracted me most was the city itself. Aesthetically it's a gold mine, and for any fiction writer who enjoys setting their scenes to a backdrop of striking landmarks Liverpool offers more possibilities than I could ever hope to mention in one article. Places like the Albert Dock, the Liverpool and Metropolitan Cathedrals, the Liver Building, and St George's Hall have all made their way into my novels, and with so many spectacular locations scattered around Merseyside I find it incredible that more visual fiction isn't set here (though recent shows like the BBCs Good Cop have gone some way to remedying this anomaly).
Next came the people, and the 'Scouse' culture in general. Too often in the past I've found that when Liverpudlians make their way into fiction, be it books, films, or television, they usually become little more than caricatures; funny little fellas in tracksuits, or the occasional psychopath. The wealth of charm and wit often referenced about scousers doesn't always make it into their fictional representatives, and for me that was a key motivation when I was writing both Poisoned Arrows, and the follow up Shattered Empire. I wanted to present the Liverpool I knew, the one filled with witty, charming, resilient characters that had a depth and a subtlety completely detached from their accents. More so than most English cities I've always felt that scousers struggle to shake off the stereotypes that follow them around, maybe I'm just more aware of it because I've been through it first hand, but occasionally people can treat being from Liverpool like a stigma, when really it should be nothing less than a badge of honour.
What I've learnt most over the last few years writing these books, and it's a lesson which fills me with a great deal of pride, is that Liverpool has to capacity to be whatever it wants to be. It has so many different identities, and some might contradict each other at times, but they're all true in their own little way. It can present itself as an artistic hub, the Rock'n'Roll band that ignited a worldwide phenomenon can testify to that, as can the city's enviable collection of museums and art galleries.
It can be a historical city, tapping into its role as the Second Port of the Empire, and the importance it played in a dominant period of British history. Crime and poverty can also push us in another direction, towards more of those unflattering stereotypes that I alluded to earlier, while if ever anyone needed convincing of the city's unity, or strength of character, one only has to look at the way Liverpool has come together in the campaign of justice for the 96. It is a city with more faces than postcodes, and that kind of diversity can't help but be positive.
That's not to say that it's all been plain sailing. I do generally believe that in some small pockets of the country there is still a prejudice towards Scousers that has endured since the eighties. In addition to that there are obviously elements of Liverpool that aren't perfect, and when you write about a place that you love it can be difficult to try and embrace those murkier sides. But I can say, hand on heart, that I've loved every second spent writing the Golden Aces Trilogy, exploring the city that raised me and building a little world within it. If over the course of the three books I've managed to give one reader an interest in the city that they might not otherwise have had, then I'll count it as a job well done. If not, then I'm sure someone else will come along soon to do a better job than me. Liverpool is a special place, and it deserves nothing less.
